Bulldogs close within one but can't complete comeback, fall to Dartmouth, 66-62, Saturday

HANOVER, N.H. – The Bryant University men's basketball team cut the score to one point, 60-59, with 64 seconds left in the game, but when the Bulldogs were forced to foul, Dartmouth College made its shots from the line for a 66-62 win at Leede Arena Saturday night.

With a 10-point deficit entering the second half and seeing that hole reach 12 points nearly seven minutes in, the Bulldogs (1-3) found a renewed defensive effort mid-frame, keeping the Big Green (1-2) off the board for more than three minutes. But while Bryant's defense stood strong, the Bulldogs wouldn't see much scoring in that time, getting just four points for a 50-43 score in the Big Green's favor with eight minutes left on the clock.

But Big Green sharpshooter R.J. Griffin seemed had an answer for every bit of Bulldog momentum gained, nailing seven threes on the night, including five in the second frame alone for a game-high 29 points. His fifth trey of the evening bumped the home side back to a double-figure advantage, 53-43, and was the first of three-consecutive triples scored by the junior to bring the clock down to five minutes and hand Dartmouth a 59-48 advantage.

Bryant would score the next six points, and after a made free throw from Jvonte Brooks, sophomore Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) would thrown down his second dunk of the evening to cut the gap to four, 60-56, with 1:51 to play.

Sophomore Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) made things interesting 46 seconds later, draining a 3-pointer from the left corner for a 60-59 margin, but a Bulldog foul with 25 seconds to go put the Big Green on the line, where they would return eight times in the final 25 ticks to solidify the four-point, 66-62 victory.

The win was the first of the year for the Big Green, who shot 40.7 percent from the field on the day, led by an 8-of-16 effort (7-11 from 3-point range) from Griffin. Gabas Maldunas recorded the only double-double of the contest, with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Bryant saw four players register double-figure points and was paced by Francis's 14-point, eight-rebound performance. Junior Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) chipped in 12 points, eight of them from the charity stripe, and dished out a game-high seven assists, while Maynard added 11 and Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) recorded 10 off 4-of-6 shooting and a 2-for-2 mark from downtown.

The Bulldogs shot 46.5 percent from the field and nearly equaled the showing from long range (46.2 percent). Bryant was sent to the line 20 times –13 of them coming in the second frame – and made good on 16 freebies. Dartmouth owned the offensive boards on the night, outrebounding the Bulldogs, 14-5, in the category and 34-25 overall. The nine-offensive rebound difference resulted in 20 second-chance points for the Big Green.

Bryant will turn around quickly for its next game and play its fifth road matchup of the year Tuesday, Nov. 22, traveling to West Point, N.Y., to take on Army in a 7:00 p.m. contest. The Bulldogs will then return after Thanksgiving and travel to South Bend, Ind., to take on BIG EAST foe Notre Dame (Nov. 27) for the final contest of the team's six-game season-opening road stretch.